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Few sights are more unwelcome after a party than a backlog of dirty wine glasses rounded up like stained trophies. Washing all that stemware by hand is a slippery, tedious task—but as it turns out, hand washing is not the best way to clean wine glasses, anyway.

While we were testing for our guide to the best wine glasses, we learned that manufacturers of even the thinnest, most expensive stemware recommend washing wine glasses in the dishwasher. Counterintuitive as it may seem, you’re far likelier to break delicate stemware when you’re washing it by hand.

But there are some steps you should take to extend the life and shine of your wine glasses if you wash them in the dishwasher. Likewise, if you have to wash them by hand, there are some tools and tips you can use to make them sparkle with minimal risk of breaking.

Dishwasher detergent: Whatever you have on hand is probably fine. If you really care about the lifespan of your glassware, get something that allows you to control the dose, such as a powder detergent (not tablets or gel packs), since too much detergent can etch the glass over time.

Rinse aid: This helps prevent your glasses from coming out cloudy or covered in water spots. We like Finish Jet Dry, but you don’t need it if your detergent (like most Finish tabs) already includes rinse aid.

Bottle brush: If you must wash your wine glasses by hand, using a bottle brush is the safest way to do so. We like the soft, durable OXO Good Grips Bottle Brush.

Dish soap: We like Seventh Generation Dish Liquid because that dish soap cleans well and is unscented.

Polishing cloth: If you want to get your glasses really sparkling, a microfiber polishing cloth will erase smudges more easily than a cotton kitchen towel and won’t leave lint behind.

Hot water: For tough spots, it helps to steam the glass first by holding it over a cup of hot water.

Expect it to take however long the wash cycle is on your dishwasher (usually two to three hours), plus a few minutes per glass to polish. Plan for five to 10 minutes per glass to wash and polish by hand.

The main advice here is that it’s perfectly fine to wash your wine glasses in the dishwasher. But there are a few things you can do to ensure your glasses come out sparkling.

The most important step is to load the dishwasher correctly. Place glasses securely upside down, without allowing them to touch dishes or one another (to avoid scratching). Some dishwashers come with clips on the racks that you can use to secure glasses by the stem.

If you can, place glasses in the upper rack (though sturdier, thicker glasses will be fine on the bottom rack). For particularly tall stemware, many dishwashers (including all of the ones we recommend) allow you to adjust the position of the upper rack to accommodate.

Rinse aid will help prevent water spots. As for detergent, generally we recommend those with enzymes (including most powders, tablets, and gel packs) because they’re better at cleaning stuck-on food.

But that matters only if you’re putting glasses in with a regular load of dirty dishes. And using too much detergent (especially the strong stuff) can cause problems for your glassware. In the short term, excessive detergent may leave behind a soapy residue and scent, which will mar your experience of a wine. In the long term, regularly overdoing it on detergent can etch your glassware, making it cloudy.

It’s hard to know how much is “too much” detergent––it depends on a lot of factors, such as the hardness of your water and the dirtiness of your dishes. But if you’re worried about the lifespan of your stemware, you might want to use a gentler liquid or gel detergent that lacks enzymes, or at least something that allows you to control the dose (not tablets or pods).

Detergent will interact less with your glassware if it has grime to grab onto instead, so if you usually just throw in a few glasses with a regular load of dishes, and don’t notice any detergent smell when you use them, you’re probably fine. But by the same logic, if you frequently wash loads of just glassware, it’s best to run those cycles with less detergent. Your dishwasher’s manual may have suggestions for dosing.

If your glasses come out with a soapy smell, you’re probably using too much detergent, but there are a few other things you can do to troubleshoot. Use rinse aid if you aren’t already. Check your dishwasher’s filter to make sure it’s draining properly. And try switching detergents (some have stronger scents than others).

Outside of being dropped at a raucous party, a glass is most likely to break when you’re washing it by hand. A wet glass can easily slip from your fingers or just knock against the sink. Twisting the stem as you scrub can also put strain on it, causing it to snap.

But if you must hand wash your wine glasses, we recommend using a bottle brush to clean them without twisting and rubbing.

Hold the glass firmly by the stem and gently scrub the bowl inside and out with wet, soapy water. It’s best to use an unscented detergent like Seventh Generation Dish Liquid, but no matter what you use, be sure to rinse the glass well with hot water so that you don’t leave it with a soapy residue.

No matter how you wash your wine glasses, you may still want to give each one a final polish to remove any stray water spots or fingerprints. There’s a bit of a technique to this.

First, be sure to use a microfiber polishing cloth, which doesn’t leave behind lint like cotton or paper towels do. Make sure you use this cloth only for polishing glasses, so it doesn’t pick up any unwanted grime that could smudge or scratch the glass. And don’t wash your polishing cloth with fabric softener, which can coat it in a greasy residue.

For severe spotting, hold the glass over a cup of hot water until the inside of the bowl steams up; this will make it easier to wipe off spots.

When you’re polishing, be mindful of how much stress you put on the most delicate parts of the glass, namely the rim of the bowl as well as where the stem meets the bowl and foot.

Never polish your glass by holding the base in one hand and twisting the polishing cloth around the rim of the bowl at the top; this could torque and snap thinner stems. Instead, hold your glass gently by the bowl. Check out this Riedel video to view the proper polishing technique.

Tammie Teclemariam is a freelance food and drinks writer who contributes to Wine Enthusiast, Eater, Taste, and other publications. Before becoming a wine and spirits professional, she studied philosophy, apprenticed as a pastry chef in France, and interned at Ceremony Coffee Roasters. She lives in Brooklyn.

Marguerite Preston is a senior editor covering kitchen gear and appliances at Wirecutter, and has written guides to baking equipment, meal kit delivery services, and more. She previously worked as an editor for Eater New York and as a freelance food writer. Before that, she learned her way around professional kitchens as a pastry cook in New York.

by Eve O'Neill, Michael Sullivan, and Tammie Teclemariam

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